The second film in our tribute to the late Rob Reiner marks our 9th review of his first ten directed films. This time, it's a historical drama that Reiner helmed, telling the story of the 1963 assassination of African-American Medgar Evers (James Pickens Jr.), a civil rights activist who was shot in the back and killed in the driveway of his home in Mississippi by Byron De La Beckwith (James Woods). Due to a story released in 1989 by journalist Jerry Mitchell (Jerry Levine) which revealed that there had been jury tampering in Beckwith's two previous trials in the 60s, the widow of Medgar, Myrlie Evers (Whoopie Goldberg) comes to the office of the District Attorney to ask the D.A. Ed Peters (Craig T. Nelson) and the Assistant D.A. Bobby DeLaughter (Alec Baldwin) for a retrial. While the DA is reluctant, DeLaughter promises to pursue the case, some 20+ years later. His job is made difficult, however, by his wife Dixie (Virginia Madsen) who sees him as a traitor to his race, as well as repeated external threats against him and his family. Plus, many of the original witnesses have since died, the murder weapon is missing, and the official court transcript of the original trials has vanished. But Bobby continues, undaunted, to seek justice for Myrlie and her family. Also starring Susanna Thompson, William H. Macy, Benny Bennett, Darrell Evers, James Van Evers, Yolanda King, and Bill Cobbs! Plus, the guys announce which two films they'll be doing next as they pay tribute to Catherine O'Hara, who passed away at the end of December, 2025!

We begin our post-500 reviews with a tribute to actor, writer, and director Rob Reiner who was murdered in December of 2025. We have already done seven of his first ten films where he acted as director, this will be number eight. In 1985, Reiner led the story of a young man named Walter "Gib" Gibson (John Cusack, in his first film role) who begins college at an east coast Ivy-League school where his usual charisma isn't quite cutting it... in the classroom or in his social life. In his English class in particular, his sense of humor isn't enough to excuse his lack of grammar and spelling. But he also meets Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga), a priss who has a masterful grasp of the mechanics of writing, but creates hollow and empty stories with no heart. After Gib blows his shot with Alison, the two find themselves on the road together, headed toward California. Alison is headed out there to spend the holidays with her boyfriend Jason (Boyd Gaines), while Gib is on his way to visit his best friend Lance (Anthony Edwards) who has promised him a sure thing (played by Nicollette Sheridan, also in her first film role). The trip out, however, is not uneventful, and sparks fly between Alison and Gib over and over and over... but is there something else going on beneath it all? Also starring Tim Robbins, Lisa Jane Persky, and Viveca Lindfors!

The third and final part of our 500th episode celebration is the culmination and conclusion to the Lord of the Rings saga: "The Return of the King!" Once more with Peter Jackson at the helm, the film begins by showing us Gollum/Smeagol's (Andy Serkis) backstory and how he came to possess the ring all those years before. The original fellowship reunites, sans Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) but with King Theoden (Berhard Hill), at Isengard after the Ents have made their feelings known. After some chicanery from Pippin, the group heads out toward the capital of Gondor, Minas Tirith. Frodo and Sam, with Gollum still in tow, are captured by soldiers from Gondor, but ultimately released to continue their journey. At this point, apart from following the hobbits and the ring, the film is all about preparing for Sauron's army to arrive at, and lay siege to, Minas Tirith. The effects are spectacular (especially for 2003), and the battle is extensive! But that's just the start of the end of this historic saga that blazed the path for more than half a century of epic fantasy stories (and the OG of tabletop role-playing games) to follow! Also starring Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, and Miranda Otto! Plus, the trio announce which two Rob Reiner films they'll be reviewing as they honor this legendary director in the next pairing!

Part two of our three-part celebration of our 500th episode is the second film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy: "The Two Towers!" Again directed by Peter Jackson, the story picks up right at the end of the previous film, showing the result of Gandalf (Ian McKellen) taking on the horrific Balrog in the depths of Moria while the rest of the Fellowship escapes back to the surface. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) discover Gollum (Andy Serkis) pursuing them and end up making him travel with them. Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) set off to rescue Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) from the orcs. Add to that a sentient tree known as Treebeard (also John Rhys-Davies), the Riders of Rohan, led by Eomer (Karl Urban), King Theoden (Bernard Hill) who is under the sway of Saruman disciple Grimma Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), the unleashing of Saruman's (Christopher Lee) orc and uruk-hai army, and the resurrection of Gandalf the Gray into Gandalf the White, and the story spins off in several directions, culminating in the sacking of Isengard!

It's our 500th episode, and we decided to do something different! Instead of a pairing, we present our first full trilogy! Many of you have asked why we haven't done these three films, well, now we are. To celebrate reaching our 500th episode, it's time to look at the Lord of the Rings trilogy! First up, 2011's "The Fellowship of the Ring," directed by Peter Jackson. The film stars Ian Holme as Bilbo Baggins, whose birthday celebration brings Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) to town. Bilbo departs after his party, and leaves his home and belongings, including a mysterious ring, to his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood). Gandalf meets with his old teacher, Saruman (Sir Christopher Lee) and is betrayed. Gandalf escapes Saruman's tower and returns to Frodo, instructing him to leave immediately. Frodo is accompanied by his friend Samwise (Sean Astin), and fellow hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd). At an Inn, they encounter Strider (Viggo Mortensen), a ranger who accompanies them toward the home of the Elves, and the next stop on their quest. Along the way they meet Arwen (Liv Tyler) who saves Frodo's life. At Rivendell, Lord Elrond (Hugo Weaving) calls a council, and we meet Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Boromir (Sean Bean), who decide to accompany Frodo as he heads toward Mount Doom to destroy the ring. Also starring Cate Blanchett and Peter McKenzie.

For the second film in our OG monster movie pairing, we move ahead to the year 1954. Directed by Ishiro Honda, "Godzilla" would invoke both the aftermath of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the intense incendiary bombing campaigns whose fires destroyed over half of Tokyo. The film begins with a Japanese freighter, the Eiko-maru, being mysteriously destroyed near Odo Island. The ship Bingo-maru is sent to investigate, and it too is mysteriously destroyed, along with a fishing boat from Odo Island. As fish vanish and fishermen come home with empty nets, a village elder recalls the legend of an ancient sea creature they call Gojira they used to sacrifice young women to in order to keep the island safe. Later that night, an unusually powerful storm hits the island, destroying homes, people, livestock, and a media helicopter. Survivors travel to Tokyo seeking disaster relief, and a renowned scientist, Dr. Kyohei Yamane (Takashi Shimura) is sent to investigate. While there, Yamane discovers gigantic radioactive footprints, and then sees the creature with his own eyes! He takes his findings and eyewitness testimony back to Tokyo, along with his conclusions that the creature is something from the Jurassic period who has been disturbed, and irradiated, by nearby hydrogen bomb testing. Meanwhile, Yamane's daughter, Emiko (Momoko Kôchi) has decided to break off her engagement to a colleague of her father's, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) after having fallen in love with Captain Hideto Ogata (Akira Takarada), head of a salvage company. The army attempts to use depth charges to do away with the creature, but succeed only in provoking an attack on Shinagawa as the creature rises from Tokyo Bay. It turns out that Serizawa may have the answer to defeating the creature, but will he use it and reveal its awesome destructive power to the world? And, finally, after nine and a half years, the trio reveal which movie will be the subject of their 500th episode!

It's classic OG monster movies for this first pairing of 2026! Directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933's "King Kong" brought new innovation to the screen and started a long-running franchise! The story follows filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) as he prepares for his latest action thriller! The only problem is... no agency will help him cast his leading lady. Fortunately, he finds struggling actress Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) in a soup-kitchen line and offers her the part of a lifetime. They head out to sea on the ship Venture, helmed by Captain Englehorn (Frank Reicher). Denham reveals they're headed for an uncharted island, distinguished by a mountain shaped like a skull and, supposedly, the home of a mysterious creature known only as "Kong." Along the way, sparks begin to fly between Ann and first make Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot). Upon arriving at the island, they witness a ceremony before a massive wall and gate, which their presence interrupts. The chief of the tribe asks to purchase Ann for her blond hair, but of course the group refuses. That night, after Driscoll reveals his love to Ann, natives slip aboard the Venture and kidnap her. Discovering her absence, the crew heads off to the rescue, only to witness Kong, a giant ape, carry Ann off into the jungle. They give chase, and most of them are killed attempting to rescue Ann, leaving only Jack to follow Kong back to his lair, where he manages to spirit Ann away, with Kong in hot pursuit. The chase continues through the island and down to the beach the crew landed on, where Denham uses the gas bombs he brought with him to incapacitate Kong, declaring that they're going to take the ape back to New York for exhibition! And that's only the first half of the story! Also starring Sam Hardy, Noble Johnson, James Flavin, and Steve Clemente!

Our second holiday film for 2025 was, at the time it was released, an example of the pinnacle of computer animation! Directed by Robert Zemeckis, 2004's "The Polar Express" tells a tale of that time in a child's life where they begin to question the existence of Santa Claus. A young boy (voiced by Tom Hanks) is headed to bed on Christmas Eve after having told his little sister that he didn't think Santa was real anymore. He awakens to the sound of a locomotive thundering to a stop in the street outside his house, where he's invited to board "The Polar Express", non-stop to the North Pole, by the Conductor (Hanks). Upon reluctantly climbing on board, our hero meets both a loud-mouthed redheaded kid (Eddie Deezen) and a soft-spoken but confident African-American girl (Nona Gaye). After the train stops briefly to pick up one more child, named Billy (Peter Scolari) from 'across the tracks,' the train continues on its way. After being served hot chocolate, the girl takes a cup to Billy, who is riding by himself in another car. Our hero notices her un-stamped ticket laying on her seat, goes to take it to her, and loses it in the wind. It eventually makes its way back to the train but our hero doesn't know that, so he climbs up on the room to try to find the girl and the conductor. There, he meets a hobo (Hanks) who is traveling on top of the train. The hobo helps the boy make his way to the engine, where he discovers the girl is now driving the train while the driver and engineer are out replacing the headlight on the front of the train. They end up surviving several moments of peril and arriving at the North Pole, but mischance has our hero, the girl, and Billy separated from the rest of the group! Will they get back in time for Santa's arrival? Will our hero learn the truth about Santa's existence? This holiday tale has a happy ending, but we won't spoil it here! Plus, the trio reveal which OG monster movies they're reviewing for the last pairing before the 500th! (

It's time for the annual Two Geeks and a G.I.T. holiday pairing! This year, we're going to listen to the comments we've gotten over the years and do two fan favorites! First up, it's a tale that clearly rings true for many, many people! Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechick and written by John Hughes, 1989's "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" brings us once more to the Griswald family, this time over the winter holidays! Clark Griswald (Chevy Chase) his wife Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), his daughter Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and his son Rusty (Johnny Galecki) are going to have both sides of the family over for Christmas for the first time, and Clark wants it to be the perfect gathering! But when Clark's Dad Clark Sr. (John Randolph) and Mom Nora (Diane Ladd) arrive with Ellen's Dad Art (E. G. Marshall) and Mom Frances (Doris Roberts) arrive at the same time, the fighting begins right off the bat. Add Uncle Lewis (William Hickey) and batty Aunt Bethany (Mae Questel) and a surprise visit from Ellen's cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), his wife Miriam Flynn, their two kids Rocky (Cody Burger) and Ruby Sue (Ellen Latzen), along with their rottweiler Snots, things go from bad to worse! Add in trouble with the christmas lights, a tree that's too big for their house, and a missing Christmas bonus check, and you have the makings for a weeks-long holiday mishap! Also starring Brian Doyle Murray, Nicholas Guest, and Julia Louise-Dreyfus!

The second film in our tribute to the late Diane Keaton resulted in an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her! In 2003's "Something's Gotta Give," written and directed by Nancy Meyers, we're introduced to Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson), a guy in his sixties who only dates women in their 20s and 30s. When his latest companion, Marin (Amanda Peet) takes him to her mother's beach house, their flirtations are interrupted when Marin's mother, Erica Barry (Keaton) and her friend Zoe (Frances McDormand) arrive unannounced. After some awkwardness ensues, the four decided that they'll all stay for the weekend. Unfortunately, things between Harry and Marin hit a snag when, during some pre-sex fooling around, Harry has a heart attack. They get Harry to the hospital where Dr. Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves) saves his life. When introduced to Erica, he recognizes her as a successful playwright and sparks immediately fly. Unfortunately for Erica, Harry has to remain nearby during his convalescence and her beach house is the only option. Thus begins something of a topsy-turvy romance-not-romance between Erica and Harry, all the while Julian has made his interest Erica plain for all to see. A story about the one-sided societal view of an old and young romantic pairing and how things do or don't work out in such relationships! Plus, the geeks reveal which two classic holiday films will be this year's winter holiday pairing!